Holy Spirit Moments

It was about this time five years ago that I came up with the nerve to e-mail Anna LaNave. I’d been going to Mass at St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Arlington, seven blocks from my apartment, for about a month, and had seen a bulletin announcement about Landings, a program for those considering a return to the Catholic Church.

Anna called me within a few hours and asked if we could meet at what was then Murky Coffee, a rundown coffeehouse that was across the street from the church. She said she’d be wearing a green striped shirt.

She didn’t say she’d be wearing a halo, and still sometimes seems a little surprised at just how suited to this particular ministry she is.

During the eight-week course on Wednesday nights, neither Anna nor her other two team members passed any judgment on any of the potential returnees’ journeys. They explained concepts I’d never really understood during my childhood CCD classes… and presented a Church that, despite its human imperfections, is at its very core about love. Those weeks were full of Holy Spirit moments.

Last year, Anna and I became coauthors as well as friends.  A friend at Twenty-third Publications had asked me if I’d be interested in writing a book for parish leaders on embracing “away” Catholics interested in coming back to the Church. I said no, feeling a bit underqualified, and suggested the publisher contact Anna. Anna said she’d only write it if we did it together. And so, we did. The result was When They Come Home: Ways to Welcome Returning Catholics.

For me, the most special thing about the experience was the way in which God blessed this coauthorship. Anna’d be the first to tell you writing isn’t her gift; one-on-one ministry is, and she’s also very knowledgeable about Church doctrine. She has a master’s in pastoral studies. While writing is my gift, I know about 1 percent of what Anna knows about the Church. I was briefly concerned that coauthoring could damage our friendship! But it was beautiful. We each honored the other’s expertise. It was a Holy Spirit moment.